


Call A Spade A Spade

by oldhetaliafics (BisKitty)



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Angst, Cardverse, Drama, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-09
Updated: 2015-02-09
Packaged: 2018-03-11 09:53:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3323099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BisKitty/pseuds/oldhetaliafics
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Originally written for Sweethearts Week 2012</p><p>On the 17th day of Hearthfire, the King and Queen of Spades were wed. This traces their married life through five embraces.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Call A Spade A Spade

I. On the 17th day of Hearthfire, the King and Queen of Spades were wed.  
  
Arthur Kirkland, Lord of the East and Warden of the Shivering Sea and the Wyrd Woodlands, had never been acquainted with his husband to be prior to this day. It was custom that both the heir to the throne, and his Queen to be, were kept in the dark about the person they would spend a good portion of their life with. The usual excuses were not surprising, that it was a tradition from the time of the Wild-King and his Queen, and that seeing each other would bring ruin to their reign as it did with the Mad Queen of Hearts. The truth was much less romantic. It was simply another means for the jokers to show off their control over the four Card-Kingdoms (and the wild no-man’s land that was the domain of the Jokers).  
  
And so, Arthur, who had been bred and raised in the hopes that he would have been picked, had been rushed off to the palace. The young lord was clothed in Spades’ finest silks and cloths before the glittering clock that marked him as the future Queen was placed upon his neck. He could barely move, and felt more a doll than a future monarch.  
  
Yet, as he was dragged up the aisle (for his ability to move properly would probably not return until the heavy clothes were discarded), all Arthur could do was pray that his future King would at least be pleasant to deal with. Arthur didn’t care if he’d have to turn to a mistress (or rather, a mister in his case).  
  
The man at the altar was much younger than Arthur imagined; he had a baby face with bright blue eyes and rebellious hair. At least his husband-to-be was attractive, Arthur reminded himself. He simply had to keep calm and march through this, everyone had their own duties, and this was one of his. Perhaps the inside of the man would match the face.  
  
When they took each other’s hands at the end, the young King offered Arthur a reassuring smile before pulling the thickly clothed Lord into a tight embrace. Arthur noted that the King, his King, had strong, affectionate arms. Standing in the embrace, the young Queen felt less concerned about his future than he ever had. He straightened up and planted a kiss on the taller man’s lips.  
  
Alfred of house Jones, and Arthur of house Kirkland were thus wed as the King and Queen of Spades.

 

* * *

  
  
II. If asked, Arthur and Alfred would consider the start of their relationship to be the 14th of Dawn’s Glow, a local holiday that the young King enjoyed thoroughly.  
  
3 months had passed since the coronation and wedding ceremony, and Alfred couldn’t keep still. Arthur tended to stay in the library. The only time Alfred heard the other man talk was either his suggestions during council meetings or cordial small talk. So then, he, as the awesome heroic king, had to do something!  
  
His plan was for Arthur to be blindfolded and led to the garden, where Alfred and a romantic dinner awaited, and then he could finally learn more about his Queen! Unfortunately, Arthur arrived twenty minutes late, with ruined clothes and twice the number of necessary guards, and shouting about kidnapping. Alfred probably shouldn’t have told the guards to not tell him on grounds that he would accuse them of treason. That might’ve been a bit of an overreaction.  
  
“Woah, woah, calm down, my Queen, this isn’t a kidnapping. Sorry for bothering you,” Alfred tried to apologize as Arthur head-butted a guard and landed a kick to another’s family jewels. At least he knew his Queen was feisty now!  
  
“Then why the hell did you drag me out of my chambers like this! Stop smiling like that!” Arthur snapped. He was the Queen of Spades, and even if he was just a lord again, he would never have expected to be treated like this! To be roughly dragged before his King, who had apparently prepared a romantic dinner… for someone. But who?  
  
Either way, Arthur was dumped in a seat that was across the table from the tall young man who couldn’t keep a stupid grin off of his face. Arthur let out a harrumph, wondering what was going on inside the empty head of the other monarch.  
  
Well okay, this wasn’t exactly the start Alfred had planned, but things could only go up from here! Arthur was here, though the other man was scowling and unhappy, therefore it was Alfred’s job to remove those dark clouds. He was going to be smooth and suave, and Arthur would warm up to him in no time! Grabbing a bottle of wine, Alfred couldn’t keep himself still.  
   
He cleared his throat before speaking, “Th-this is the best wine from the… um… Veil, courtesy of the house… um…” Alfred had completely forgotten his speech about the wine! He was supposed to show Arthur how he had researched and memorized the way the wine tasted, and where it had came from. The King wanted to hang his head in shame, surely his Queen thought him an idiot.  
   
With a sigh, Arthur took the wine from the floundering King, “A wine from the Vale, I see. Aren’t they known for their rich color and hints of smoke in the taste? I must say you have excellent taste in wine, my lord.”  
  
 Arthur was rewarded by a surprising bear hug from Alfred. Perhaps the evening could still be saved.

 

* * *

 

III. Officially, the King and Queen of Spades had been married for a year and a day, but Arthur considered this their anniversary.

 The day before had consisted of nothing more than ceremony after ceremony, celebrating the new reign of the good King Alfred and Queen Arthur, leaving no time for the monarchs to get much needed alone time. While these ceremonies filled their lives with pomp and circumstance, Arthur much preferred a quiet anniversary like the one he had planned for today.

 Alfred had essentially decided that the morning would be spent in bed. Arthur made none of his usual protests, and even dared to stay in bed with his husband.

 “Mmm, Arthur, yer warm and fuzzy, like a teddy bear,” Alfred said, voice muffled by a pillow. His arms were wrapped tightly around Arthur’s body, refusing to let go. It wasn’t often that he got to spend a lazy day with the man he had fallen in love with.

 “Oh hush, Alfred. I am no such thing. If anything, you’re as desperate for attention and hugs as a child is. I shouldn’t be indulging you. Next thing you know, you’ll be missing meetings,” Arthur chastised him rolling his eyes, yet not moving from the embrace. He turned over and moved closer to Alfred.  
  
“You say all those things, sugar dumpling, but you still keep hugging me,” Alfred teased in a sing-song voice. He was rewarded with a pillow to the face.

 

* * *

  
  
IV.  Arthur never wanted to let go of his King, his sweet Alfred. But now his Alfred was so pale, so weak, and much too cold.  
  
It had started off with a simple order, an attempt to curb the growing influence of the nearby Kingdom of Clubs. The palace hadn’t noticed the Clubs ambassador’s tendency to linger near the drinks and food of the King. After all, they assumed that the ambassador was simply trying to repair the relations between the two nations.  
  
Iocane powder was odorless, tasteless, and highly soluable, and when mixed with a drink, incredibly deadly. Arthur was having his morning tea, and Alfred his morning coffee, when the cup had slipped out of the King’s hand and broken on the floor. The King didn’t manage to stay standing for much longer. When the surprise had worn off, Arthur too was on the floor, cradling his dying King.  
  
No words were exchanged. The guards were simply alerted by the sounds of their Queen’s tears, an incredibly rare sight.  
  
The reign of King Alfred III had only lasted 10 years.

 

* * *

  
  
V. Queen Arthur never stopped wearing mourning clothes, he couldn’t bring himself to forget.  
  
The next royal couple ascended the throne and with them, they took Arthur’s hopes of leading the country’s war against the Clubs. However, it had opened up another opportunity for Arthur  
  
Locating the ambassador wasn’t hard, but it had taken quite a beating to get out the name of the one who had ordered the poisoning. Either way, the traitorous ambassador was put out of his misery, and Arthur took to the road again.  
  
With at least part of his revenge complete, he could feel Alfred’s gentle embrace in the wind. It was but a shadow of the ones he remembered so well, the ones he promised he would never forget. He simply would never forgive the ones who stole that from him.


End file.
